New genital herpes drug shows promise in trials

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2, or genital herpes, is thought to affect one in six people aged 14 to 49. (BSIP/UIG via Getty Images)

A new drug for genital herpes appears effective in treating the condition, according to a new study.

Existing drugs work to suppress flare-ups of the sexually transmitted virus, but the new drug, pritelivir, may prove more effective in preventing its spread, said authors of the study, which was published online Thursday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

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In the study of 156 people, those who took the highest-tested dose of pritelivir (75mg) each day for 28 days showed signs of viral activity on 2.1% of days, compared to 16.6% in those who took a placebo. Genital lesions appeared on just 1.2% of days, compared to 9% in the placebo group.

"This study represents a major a step forward in herpes research," Dr. Stephen Tyring, professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, said in a statement, adding that it "should be a boon to the many people for whom existing therapy has lost effectiveness."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six people between the ages of 14 to 49 have an HSV-2, or genital herpes, infection.

The currently approved drugs to treat genital herpes don't fully eliminate symptoms and only partly reduce the risk of spreading herpes, Dr. Anna Wald, professor of allergy and infectious diseases at the University of Washington School of Public Health, told LiveScience.

Wald, who was involved in the new drug trials, added that the current drugs only act in cells infected with the herpes virus, while pritelivir acts in uninfected cells, making it potentially more effective in reducing transmission from person to person.

The study found no serious side effects associated with this dose of the drug, though previous research found high doses of pritelivir were toxic when given to monkeys, LiveScience reported.

The new drug will undergo more tests and "is still a few years from the market," Tyring said.